Miniature door-mounted basketball hoop

ABSTRACT

The miniature basketball hoop of the present: invention includes a rectangular backboard having front and rear faces, The backboard is transparent substantially across its entire area. A pair of spaced apart hooks are provided on the top of the backboard to hook the backboard over the top of a door. The hoop includes a break-away rim mounted to the front of the backboard, and sound dampening material on the rear face of the backboard, so as to minimize sound when a bail hits the backboard or rim during use.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/788,646, field May 25, 2010, and now pending, which claims priorityto U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/181,092 filed May 26,2009. These applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various forms of miniature basketball hoops are well known for mountingon bedroom, dorm room, and office doors. Such prior art miniature hoopsnormally include a backboard with a rounded top edge and one or twohooks on the backboard for mounting over the top edge of the door. Theconstruction of these prior art mini hoops is generally lightweight,such that the hoops do not withstand slam dunks or other abuse. Forexample, such miniature hoops typically are rigid, such that a slam dunkeither breaks the rim or breaks the hooks which mount the hoop to thedoor.

Prior art hoops also tend to be noisy during use, when the ball hits thebackboard or the rim, because there is no padding or sound dampeningmaterial between the backboard and the door. Typically, the rear face ofthe backboard typically engages the surface of the door loosely, andthus rattles when hit by a ball. The door is also subject to scratchesby the direct contact between the backboard and the door.

Therefore, a primary objective of the present invention is the provisionof an improved miniature basketball hoop for mounting on a door.

Another objective of the present invention is the provision of animproved miniature basketball hoop for door mounting which is durableand safe in USB.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the miniature basketball backboard andhoop according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation view of the backboard and hoop, with the netremoved for clarity.

FIG. 3 is a rear elevation view of the backboard and hoop, with the netremoved for clarity,

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the backboard and hoop, with the netremoved for clarity.

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the backboard and hoop, with the netremoved for clarity.

FIG. 6 is a left-side elevation view of the backboard and hoop.

FIG. 7 is a right-side elevation view of the backboard and hoop,

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the backboard and hoop mounted on adoor, with the door shown in broken lines.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along lines 9-9 of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A basketball hoop 10 generally includes a polycarbonate, shatterproofbackboard 12 to which a break-away rim 14 is mounted. The backboard 12is rectangular and includes front and rear faces. The backboard 12 istransparent substantially across its full dimension, except for an outerperimeter strip or band 16 adjacent the four perimeter edges of thebackboard 12, and the bank target 18 above the rim 14. A pair of hooks20 are mounted on the rear face of the backboard 12 and extendrearwardly and downwardly from the upper edge of the backboard 12, Thus,the hooks 20 are substantially hidden by the door when the hoop 10 ismounted on the door. Preferably, the hooks 20 are a squared C-shape,with a front leg 21, a rear leg 23, and a top leg 25. As shown in Fig.9, the front leg 21 is secured to the backboard 12 by one or more bolts27. The lower end 29 of the rear leg 23 may be flared to facilitatemounting of the hoop 10 on the door.

The rim assembly 14 includes a pair of mounting plates 22, 24 positionedon opposite sides of the backboard 12 and secured thereto by a pluralityof bolts 28. A horizontal plate 28 is pinned to the front mounting plate22 via a hinge 30. A metal rim 32 is welded to the front edge of theupper horizontal plate 28. The Hinge 30 includes first and second pairsof hinge tubes or collars 31, 33 welded to the plates 22, 28respectively, with a hinge pin 35 extending through the aligned collars,so that the horizontal plate 28, to which the rim 32 is welded, canpivot relative to the plate 22. A lower horizontal plate 34 is welded tothe front mounting plate 22. A spring 38 extends between the upper andlower horizontal plates 28, 34 such that the rim 32 is spring biased, soas to be a break-away rim which pivots resiliently downwardly when aball is dunked through the rim 32, The spring 38 normally biases the rim32 back to a horizontal position after a dunk is completed.

The rim 32 includes a plurality of hooks 38 to which a basketball net 40is removably mounted.

At least one sound dampener 42 is provided on the rear face of thebackboard 12. Preferably,, the sound dampener 42 is in the form of aresilient, soft rubber or foam strip extending around the outerperimeter of the rear face of the backboard 12 so as to engage the doorwhen the hoop 10 is mounted on the door. The sound dampener 42 alsoprotects the door against scratches from the backboard 12. A secondarysound dampener 44 may be provided on the rear face of the backboard 12immediately behind the target 18. The first and second sound dampeners42, 44 form substantially concentric inner and outer rings, as seen inFIG. 3. A sound damper 46 is also provided on the back of plate 24,Thus, the sound dampeners 42, 44, 46 are hidden by the perimeter strip16, the target 18 on the front face of the backboard 12, and the plate24.

A miniature basketball (not shown) is provided for shooting through therim 32 and the net 40.

Preferred embodiments have been shown and described, and it isunderstood that many modifications, substitutions, and additions may bemade which are within the intended spirit and scope of the invention.

1. A miniature basketball hoop, comprising: a substantially transparentrectangular backboard having front and rear surfaces; a pair of spacedapart hooks attached to the rear surface of the backboard at a top ofthe backboard, with the hooks adapted for hanging the backboard onto adoor; a front mounting plate attached to the front surface of thebackboard; a hinge attached to the front mounting plate; an upperhorizontal plate attached to the hinge; a rim attached to the upperhorizontal plate, with the rim pivotable relative to the backboard; alower horizontal plate attached to the front mounting plate; a springbetween the upper and lower horizontal plates, with the spring urgingthe upper horizontal plate away from the lower horizontal plate; a boltextending between the upper and lower horizontal plates to limitmovement of the upper horizontal plate away from the lower horizontalplate; and a perimeter sound dampener on the rear surface of thebackboard extending substantially around a perimeter of the backboard.2. The miniature basketball hoop of claim 1 further comprising a centralsound dampener attached to the rear surface of the backboard at acentral position on the backboard.
 3. The miniature basketball hoop ofclaim 1 with the sound dampener comprising a foam material or rubber. 4.The miniature basketball hoop of claim 1 wherein the hooks do not extendabove the backboard.
 5. The miniature basketball hoop of claim 1 withthe spring concentric with the bolt.